Summer Budget 2015

Cliff

It's not a vote winner and was hardly mentioned during the election but important all the same- sure Sonic will agree!
Defence’s budget will rise by 0.5% (above inflation) each year to 2020-21. Up to an additional £1.5 billion a year will also be available by 2020-21 to fund increased spending on the military and intelligence agencies.


The government will meet the NATO pledge to spend 2% of national income on defence every year of this decade.

IronGiant

It's unclear how that will work.  If the "grant" is moved over into the "loan" so everyone is treated the same, they all borrow the same amount and only pay it back when they can afford to, it shouldn't stop anybody going.  BTW, I think you'll find that many students who aren't entitled to any grant currently, are far worse off than students on a full grant simply because middle income families don't always pay them the difference.

HRF1T2007

The concern is I work hard and pay all my taxes etc
God forbid one day I might need to claim something and it won't be there even though I've paid into it

The rent increase should be on a sliding scale as families earning £32000 is different to £42,000

All this will encourage is people to buy the house or not move out as what's the incentive? Move into private rental?
Or take pay cuts

All negative in working hard to better and improve and save

Stuey1

People will not work for long if they are not earning enough to provide at least a basic living... why would anyone at all bother? Tax credits just mean that the companies themselves can save a little more money to pay to the executives instead

Wages aren't going to increase overnight but within a few years without tax credits wages would have to rise or people just won't do the jobs....

Would you honestly do a job (full-time) that didn't pay you enough to house and feed yourself? If companies are paying people so little that they can't live basically in a reasonably local area then I don't see the point in doing the job at all

Sve

IG, I disagree, I think it will put off some young adults from going to uni when they see they no longer can get a grant but have to get a loan and pay it back when they start earning over a certain amount.

Also I cannot remember the % (I think it was something like 35-40%) of student loans that are never paid back but this new measure will just increase this amount.

Stuey1

The grant removal for students is a non-issue.

It just puts everyone on the same footing.  You take loans on advantageous terms, and only pay them back once you earn over a certain amount.

Once a child becomes 18, they are independent of their parents.  I've never understood why parental income should have any bearing on how living costs are funded for a student.

IronGiant

The vulnerable are naturally going to be more affected by any decrease in government spending (which is what is required apparently).

I'd like to have hoped that the benefits cap being mentioned exclude the sick and disabled although I haven't read into it.

Quite probably... I think the governments pasts and present have an issue with this though, in that they don't do anything about it and it costs them more money in keeping people in hospital beds etc

EarthRod

I don't disagree with that.   My point was more that a lot of students don't qualify for a grant and they don't even have the option of borrowing it at the moment.  They have to hope the bank of Mum and Dad will pay it and many don't.

Don't forget that most students are already borrowing around £12.5K a year.

Stuey1

As far as working people are concerned, he's taken with one hand and given with the other. So he's cut tax credit (halved?) and increased minimum wage.

It would appear to balance out, but I have a suspicion the poor wage earner will have to tighten the belt even further.

mikeburns

If they are put off by the fact they may have to pay for their education if they exceed earning over £21,000 then i would doubt their dedication to the course in the first place.

your second statement just says to me that we have far too many students going to uni to do pointless courses to avoid going to work (I should know, i did it - although my loan is fully paid back now)